Islamic Salvation Front

The Islamic Salvation Front (FIS) was an Islamist political party in Algeria that existed from 18 February 1989 to 4 March 1992, when it was banned after winning an electoral victory in the first democratic elections in the history of Algeria. The FIS was founded by Ali Belhadj and Abbassi Madani, and it sought to implement sharia law in the secular country of Algeria. Its victory in the 1992 elections over the FLN led to a military coup that prevented the FIS from taking power, and the military government banned the FIS two months later. Its partisans rebelled against the government in the ensuing Algerian Civil War, which saw Islamists rebel against the secular government; this war led to the rise of al-Qaeda in North Africa.